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The Bottomless Pit of Job Searching

Gone are the days where you could literally walk into a job – cross the threshold of your corner shop, enquire if they have any part time work and be hired on the spot. In the present day, consider yourself fortunate to even be asked to an interview. Despite saying this I have just started my first job after getting into the mindset that it was never going to happen.

My best advice is to be persistent, do not apply for jobs every now and again, but search websites such as ‘Indeed.com’, EVERYDAY. Once I had got over the off-putting brick wall of rejection and sense of ‘why am I wasting my time?’ I set myself the goal of applying for at least two jobs a day. My record was eighteen yet I received few replies considering the amount of effort and time I put into the process.

Interestingly, my luck drastically and abruptly changed and I ended up going to five interviews in one week during the month of September. This came after searching for almost two years and never attaining an actual interview. Four out of five of these interviews were for ‘Christmas Temporary’ positions and I also received more offers in the following weeks for more temp jobs. So if you are looking for work no matter whether it is permanent or not secure, from experience I can say the end of September is prime job search time. Annoyingly the start of autumn is quite far off, meaning this opportunity won’t come up again until well into 2015.

Another thing to bear in mind is your CV, I amended mine numerous times as my job searching evolved and I squirm when I think back to how careless my first draft was, with an atrocious spelling mistake and useless information. An informative, professional, yet not tedious CV is usually two pages at the most. Make the most of today’s technology by applying online frequently, alongside distributing your CV to local shops, cafes and other amenities. Don’t be put off if you think the business won’t be interested – there is no harm in asking. Finally I have learnt you can’t be picky about where you apply; grasp every opportunity that you find.

Wanderlust and whimsical 17 year old, with an ambition to become a music and travel journalist or work my way into the film industry. My weaknesses are pizza, massive jumpers, music gigs and the city of London. I enjoy being part of a trampoline club and intend to learn the guitar or piano soon.